Board Member at Politico Parent Axel-Springer Resigns, Suggesting That Standards at Washington Mainstay Taking a Back Seat to ‘Woke’ Politics 

The political divisions in American media aren’t just making headlines — they’re tearing up international boardrooms, too. 

The German media giant, Axel Springer, and Martín Varsavsky, a longtime board member and self-proclaimed friend of Elon Musk, have officially parted ways. His resignation followed a barrage of accusations against Politico, the Washington, D.C.-based news site Axel Springer owns, for what is described as its leftwing bias. 

Mr. Varsavsky, an Argentine entrepreneur who has sat on Axel Springer’s board since 2014, didn’t hold back. Taking to X, he declared Politico’s coverage of American culture and politics to be out of sync with his “ethical standards.” At the same time, he praised Axel Springer’s German publications — Bild and Die Welt — for their “balanced and fair” reporting.

 “USA has changed, Germany has changed, hopefully, so will Politico,” he said. 

Mr. Varsavsky has applauded President Trump’s tough stances on government spending, Israel, and the climate change alarmism that led to the Paris climate accord. He has been vocally against, however, Mr. Trump’s tariffs and his approach to Ukraine. 

Axel Springer acquired Politico in 2021 for $1 billion, cementing its ambitions to be a major player in American media. Yet Mr. Varsavsky’s latest tirade ignited a firestorm at the outlet’s main headquarters, angering staff and leadership within both the company and its Berlin-based parent, according to the Financial Times.

Insiders told the FT that his exit had already been planned as Axel Springer prepares for a $13.5 billion split from one of its owners, American private equity firm KKR. However, his public salvos — particularly his statement that Politico displayed “one-sided Hamas support” for publishing an Associated Press article on Israeli airstrikes in Gaza — sparked internal debates about firing him sooner. 

Mr. Varsavsky didn’t stop at bias allegations. Last week, he dubbed Axel Springer’s journalists “woke” on X before deleting the post. He also played a behind-the-scenes role in a controversial opinion piece by Mr. Musk, in which the billionaire argued for supporting Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party, according to the FT. Mr. Varsavsky said AfD was needed to counteract “leftist overregulation and Islamist colonization.” 

Last month, Mr. Trump blasted Politico as a “leftwing rag” and even directed administration officials to cancel government subscriptions. The move followed a Pentagon decision to boot Politico and other press outlets deemed to be politically biased in their reporting by the administration from their workspaces in favor of right-leaning alternatives.

Axel Springer’s chief executive, Mathias Döpfner, finds himself precariously straddling a tightrope. Mr. Döpfner, known for opposing “woke culture,” is no stranger to aligning with Trumpian allies, even referring to an incendiary speech by Vice President Vance at this year’s Munich Security Conference as “inspiring.” Yet he also criticized Mr. Trump’s aggressive treatment of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in an Oval Office, calling it deeply disappointing.